Vladimir Vladimirovich Martynenko (born March 24, 1957, Kiev, Ukraine) is a Russian sociologist, economist, and political scientist and professor. Martynenko has held the position of Deputy Director for scientific research and Head of the theory and strategy of the Russian society’s Development Department at the Institute of Socio-Political Research under the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPR RAS). The main field of his research is economic sociology, investigation of socio-structural meaning of monetary relations, the critical analysis of Marxism and the vulgarization of liberal theories.
The key conclusions of V.V. Martynenko’s scientific research are presented in his monographs such as The Unknown Policy of The Bank of Russia (2004) and The Caldera of State Power (2005). The Unknown Policy of The Bank of Russia is the first fundamental and all-round analysis of socio-economic and political aftermath, methods and objectives of the monetary policy pursued by Russia early in the 1990s.
The ideology and financial activities pursued by the Central Bank of Russia and by the Russian Government have been subjected to constructive criticism as well as the creation of the effective banking system, the interrelation between central and commercial banks. The author suggests a fundamentally new strategy of money issue which can guarantee the stability of the banking system and prevent inflation, thus, promoting a national balanced socio-economic and political development. He views money as a socially significant instrument in securing the rights and obligations of society members and formed objectively in the evolution of civilization and division of labour. And each period of evolution is characterized by a corresponding form of money represented by monetary instruments which ensure the fulfillment of monetary functions. The phenomenon of the devaluation of the money in circulation is viewed by the author as the indicator for the deformation of money and as a result of disparity of rights and obligations between various members of society and social groups, a failure to comply with the market principle of equal exchange between the producer and consumer of goods and services, as well as by the inadequate socio-economic and political system. The monographic research The Caldera of State Power (2005) continues a profound analysis of the current socio-political and economic situation in Russia. According to V.V. Martynenko it reminds one of the period between the two World Wars when the democratic and liberal crises manifested themselves on a global scale. This monograph is noted for the original definition of the state essence, its classification and ambiguous role. It is focused on the objective laws and contradictions of its evolution as well as on the methods for assessing the socially significant decisions adopted by state authorities, it analyses their impact on various social groups and on the degree of their conformity to the potential and requirements of the balanced economic growth. The author also subjects to scrupulous investigation the fundamental problems of interaction between political and civil societies and suggests some practical recommendations for optimizing the functions discharged by the three branches of government, i.e. executive, legislative and judicial. This book exposes the indicators which reflect the power policy transforming from socially imperative to an economically unjustified one. V.V. Martynenko analyses the illogicalities and intrinsic contradictions of Marxist theory, vulgarization of socio-economic development and liberal conceptions. This monograph reveals the reasons why the liberal theories put forward by contemporary radical adherents prove incapable of offering adequate solutions to social problems.